Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on increasing the frequency of food hygiene assessments.

The Food Law Code of Practice (the Code), which is prepared by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and issued by my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, provides statutory guidance to local authorities and Port Health Authorities responsible for the delivery of official food controls and other official activities. Within the Code is guidance for authorities on how to determine the frequency of official controls using a risk-based approach. Higher risk or non-compliant establishments receive a higher frequency of official control than lower risk, compliant establishments.

The FSA has recently consulted upon a revised Code which included proposals to introduce and develop flexibilities available to authorities. These can help support more focus on higher risk or non-compliant food establishments. The FSA aims to lay the revised Code in autumn 2025. The FSA also continues to work across Government and with local authority partners to ensure food safety regulation remains proportionate and effective.